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Plans to build a carwash on N. High Street have been canceled after Clintonville and University
District residents complained about pollution threats.

Goo-Goo Express Wash has dropped its plans to buy the vacant lot at 2725 N. High St., David
Hodge, an attorney representing the Columbus, Ga.-based company, said yesterday.

Hodge said neighbors’ concerns about the carwash affecting the Glen Echo Ravine and Olentangy
River and a lack of support for a proposed zoning change from the Clintonville Area Commission and
the University Area Commission ultimately persuaded the company to back out.

“It was all of the above,” Hodge said.

The decision was cheered by members of two ravine-focused conservation groups, Friends of the
Ravines and the Lower Olentangy Urban Arboretum.

“It was simply the wrong lot for that business,” said Mike McLaughlin, arboretum president.

The Clintonville Area Commission voted 4-0 against recommending rezoning to Columbus city
officials during its Nov. 7 meeting. The University Area Commission zoning committee tabled the
proposal during a Nov. 4 meeting.

The property straddles the boundary between the neighborhoods.

“It’s located on the ridge of Glen Echo Ravine,” said Susan Keeny, chairwoman of the zoning
committee. “There is a little concern about the chemicals being used in the carwash, concerns about
runoff and storm-water drainage.”

Martha Buckalew, operations director for Friends of the Ravines, said she hopes the lot, which
occupies a filled section of Glen Echo Ravine, could one day be excavated to help restore the
ravine.

“It would be a much more inviting gateway into Clintonville,” Buckalew said.

Finding the money could be difficult. The property, owned by Columbus-based fast-food giant
White Castle, has a listed selling price of $775,000, according to real-estate agent Jeff
Mattingly.

Mattingly said Goo-Goo was approaching a deadline to put down some “nonrefundable money” on the
property.

Buckalew and McLaughlin said they hope Goo-Goo can find another location along High Street to
build a carwash. Hodge said he’s not sure whether the company will do that.